Web writers net big money

Wider use of smartphones and faster internet connectivity are major drivers of online fiction reading

Yang Hanliang is moonlighting. By day, Mr Yang, 35, is a physical education teacher. But as night falls he hunches over a huge computer screen and prepares for six hours of story writing, sipping coffee to power him through the solitary shift.

“I have a rather low profile,” he said. “My students know me only as their trainer for jogging and basketball, but they could be on their mobile phones reading the latest chapter of one of my novels.”

Mr Yang, better known by his avatar HengSaoTianya, has created a series of blockbuster titles on Qidian.com, a leading online literature site. His virtual books, including Library of Heaven’s Path, have attracted millions of readers and built him a fan base that is already spreading wings overseas.

The likes of Mr Yang represent the growing tribe of independent contract writers hoping to transform hardship into opportunity on the sidelines of the traditional nine-to-five economy.

The research group Hurun Report depicted the typical writer as a 37 year-old male who spends eight hours a day churning out up to 20,000 words. They thrive largely on the premise of China’s explosive online literature market, which the consultancy Frost & Sullivan forecasts will reach 13.4 billion yuan (£1.5 billion) by 2020 with a 30 per cent annual growth rate.

Unlike e-books, which are digital versions of physical books, online literature features works created online and initially distributed over the internet. Many of the authors are amateurs and write as a part-time job.

The rise of smartphones and faster internet connectivity are major drivers of online reading. Today about 330 million Chinese people access their gadgets daily to see how events will unfold for their beloved protagonists.

The market went through more than 20 years of consolidation before ways of making money from it surfaced. In 2003 Qidian introduced the country’s first online reading payment programme, under which readers can pay to become VIPs and unlock the most up-to-date chapters.

Thanks to a merger in 2015, Qidian, together with the likes of QQ Reading and Hongxiu.com, is now under China Literature’s wing, making the company the country’s largest reading portal.

The market share of Tencent-backed China Literature has risen to 72 per cent, well ahead of smaller players including Baidu Literature and Alibaba Literature, Frost & Sullivan says.

“Online literature and comics are both important sources for developing intellectual property,” said Yang Chen, who oversees content creation at China Literature.

“But the entry barrier is a lot lower for online literature. We have seen an influx of novel writers onto our platforms. Stiff competition spurs high-quality creations.”

Readers are willing to pay for premium content, whether it is fantasy, heroes and martial arts, science fiction or romance

China Literature now owns about 10 million virtual books from more than 200 genres and houses 7 million writers across its platforms, Mr Yang said.

The meteoric rise of online reading was first fuelled by changing demographics. Those born in the 1980s and after constitute the main consumers, and they are willing to pay for premium content, whether it is fantasy, heroes and martial arts, science fiction or romance, a report by the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology last year said.

Neil Wang, president of Frost & Sullivan China, said: “The group has clearly exhibited greater demand for engaging content in rich media platforms, and is more receptive to trendy storylines and diversified genres of online literature, as well as other entertainment products adapted from them.”

On the supply side, being a first-rate writer is financially rewarding and could in turn stimulate the entire ecosystem into a benign circle. And the country’s crackdown on piracy and protection of intellectual property rights have set the stage for the pay-per-view subscription model.

Mr Yang said that with new publications his annual income could amount to several million yuan, which would allow him to make writing his main occupation.

A bigger chunk of income derives from granting authorisation or adaptation rights to novels or comic books published on its platform to filmmakers, TV producers or game developers.

This article was originally produced and published by China Daily. View the original article at www.chinadaily.com.cn